ArticleEvolutionary applications2015
The genetic basis of the fitness costs of antimicrobial resistance: a meta-analysis approach.
Article in Evolutionary applications, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 227 papers.
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Who cites it
227 citing papers in PubMed.
- Predicting resistance evolution to guide antibiotic development.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Spatial constraints determine the spread of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance between bacterial colonies.mSystems · 2026Article
- Simulating the host niche: balancing complexity and control in the experimental evolution of antibiotic resistance and pathoadaptation.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2026Review
- Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Microbial interactions as key players shaping the emergence and spread ofMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2026Review
- Positive epistasis among ribosomal mutations drives high-level streptomycin resistance inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Biosynthetic gene clusters inmSystems · 2026Article
- Gain and loss of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes are associated with chromosomal resistance presence in Enterobacteriaceae.mSystems · 2026Article
- Biofilm-forming traits enrich the plasmid diversity and functional potential in particle-attached bacteria in coastal ecosystems.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Metagenomic Insights into the Seasonal Distribution and Dissemination Risks of Biocide and Metal Resistance Genes in a Subtropical Coastal Ecosystem.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Resistance potentiators: Evolutionary catalysts of antibiotic resistance.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- The pQBR mercury resistance plasmids: a model set of sympatric environmental mobile genetic elements.Microbial genomics · 2026Article
- Beyond resistance and tolerance: rethinking evolutionary responses to antibiotics from the perspective of individual bacterial cells.Nature communications · 2026Review
- Covalent Inhibitors in Antimicrobial Drug Development-Beyond β-Lactams.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Staphylococcal Cassette ChromosomeAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mutational basis of ceftazidime-borrelidin A collateral sensitivity in Escherichia coli.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Integrative analysis of fitness and metabolic effects of a large multidrug-resistant plasmid inMicrobial genomics · 2026Article
- Antimicrobial resistance, conjugative plasmids and pathogenicity in wastewater and freshwater Escherichia spp. in Stockholm, Sweden.npj antimicrobials and resistance · 2026Article
- A novel ABC family protein participates in the regulation of fitness cost caused byFundamental research · 2026Article
- RND-mediated efflux couples antimicrobial resistance and hypervirulence in contemporary Vibrio cholerae.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
167 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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2 authors.
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Abstract
The evolution of antibiotic resistance carries a fitness cost, expressed in terms of reduced competitive ability in the absence of antibiotics. This cost plays a key role in the dynamics of resistance by generating selection against resistance when bacteria encounter an antibiotic-free environment. Previous work has shown that the cost of resistance is highly variable, but the underlying causes remain poorly understood. Here, we use a meta-analysis of the published resistance literature to determine how the genetic basis of resistance influences its cost. We find that on average chromosomal resistance mutations carry a larger cost than acquiring resistance via a plasmid. This may explain why resistance often evolves by plasmid acquisition. Second, we find that the cost of plasmid acquisition increases with the breadth of its resistance range. This suggests a potentially important limit on the evolution of extensive multidrug resistance via plasmids. We also find that epistasis can significantly alter the cost of mutational resistance. Overall, our study shows that the cost of antimicrobial resistance can be partially explained by its genetic basis. It also highlights both the danger associated with plasmidborne resistance and the need to understand why resistance plasmids carry a relatively low cost.
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